


friday night and the lights are low

by nikkiRA



Series: Happy Steve Bingo [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Dancing, I'm rating this M to be safe but there's not much sexual content in this, M/M, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, just let him be happy for two goddamn minutes i beg you, this is so disgustingly sappy but the goal is for Steve to be happy okay, yes i named this after dancing queen i am only human
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-08 00:35:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15919389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nikkiRA/pseuds/nikkiRA
Summary: The lucky girl tonight was Molly Kane, a busty redhead who danced in a way that left nothing to the imagination. Not that there was anything inherently wrong with that. Steve liked a woman who know what she wanted, but not when the thing she wanted was Steve’s – Bucky. Not when it was his Bucky.Bucky, for his part, played his role perfectly. He barely left the dance floor, and he called her all sorts of names, doll and honey and sweetheart, names he usually whispered in Steve’s ear. Steve had always claimed to hate them, but now that they were directed at someone else, he was beginning to rethink that.They go dancing. There are feelings.





	friday night and the lights are low

**Author's Note:**

> for the fill 'dancing' for my bingo card for the happy steve bingo

At times like this, it was really hard to remember that this was his idea.

It’s just that Bucky is such a good dancer, and an even better actor. And Steve should be grateful of that fact; if he weren’t so good at pretending, they would have been arrested by now. And it had been Steve’s idea to go out and keep doing this, the double dates and the dancing, because they had to keep up appearances.

Three months ago, Bucky, drunk off his ass, had told Steve he couldn’t do it anymore, kissed him square on the mouth, and then ran off. Steve had stayed up most of the night running over what happened with a fine-tooth comb, and when Bucky came back the next morning, sober and sheepish and ready to move out, Steve had kissed him right back.

The past three months had been the best of his life – Bucky in his bed every night, touching him the way no one had ever wanted to touch him before, sweet talking and dirty talking all at the same time. Bucky was damn near worshipful, and Steve was the same, kissing every inch and trying to commit it to memory.

But it was dangerous, and they had to be careful, so after a while Steve had suggested that Bucky start dating again, as a way to keep up appearances, to keep them safe. No one would’ve looked twice if Steve never dated again – never did much in the first place, girls had never really wanted anything to do with him. But Buck was a notorious skirt chaser, and people would notice if he stopped. Bucky hadn’t liked the idea, although he admitted it was a good one, but Steve wasn’t a real big fan of it either. He didn’t have much desire to be ignored by women again, and he definitely didn’t like watching Bucky with anyone else.

But he also didn’t want to be thrown in jail, or something worse. So he could put up with Bucky grinning down at a girl for a night. Probably.

The lucky girl tonight was Molly Kane, a busty redhead who danced in a way that left nothing to the imagination. Not that there was anything inherently wrong with that. Steve liked a woman who know what she wanted, but not when the thing she wanted was Steve’s – Bucky. Not when it was his Bucky.

Bucky, for his part, played his role perfectly. He barely left the dance floor, and he called her all sorts of names, doll and honey and sweetheart, names he usually whispered in Steve’s ear. Steve had always claimed to hate them, but now that they were directed at someone else, he was beginning to rethink that.

He was an idiot. He knew he was an idiot. No matter what Bucky called Molly Kane, he wasn’t taking her home tonight. It was stupid to get jealous. Not that that was stopping him.

What made it worse was his own date. Normally she would have been staring at Bucky, too, and ignoring Steve. Steve was good at being ignored. They could both stare at Bucky until the end of the night.

But his date tonight, Molly’s younger sister Anna, is nice. And worse than that, she’s interested. Steve’s never been half as good at this as Bucky, and he’s worse now.

“Do you want to dance?”

He tore his gaze away from Bucky. Anna will likely think he was gazing at her sister, and he felt bad. He knows what that’s like. Anna, by most standards, wasn’t as pretty as her sister, but she had a nice smile, and she was a smart girl. She was just a couple months too late.

He smiled apologetically. “I’m not much of a dancer. Two left feet.” Plus it usually made his asthma bad, although he wasn’t going to tell her that.

She looked pretty dejected. “Sorry,” he said. “I’d love to dance with you, really. Only I’ve been told getting your feet stepped on gets old after a while.”

She looked upset, and he really did feel like scum. If the world were better he would tell her the truth, that it had nothing to do with her, that three months ago he found out the person he wanted more than anything wanted him back, that everything paled in comparison to that now. But the world wasn’t better, and he couldn’t tell her that.

She looked morosely in the direction of her sister and Bucky. “I know I’m not as… pretty as Molly –”

“Hey, no,” he said, because he wasn’t about to let her think it was her fault he was so distracted. “It’s just – well, my dates usually wish they were with Bucky, instead. I guess I’m just not used to having someone pay attention.” Not technically a lie.

She smiled again. “James seems nice,” she said shyly. “But my sister and I – we don’t really like the same types of men.”

Figures. Bucky finally managed to find him a date who was interested now that he was queer as all get out.

And also, absurdly, there was a part of him that was kind of offended, on behalf of Bucky, that this girl wasn’t interested. If she only knew what a good man Bucky was, how kind and funny, what a good kisser he was – well, she didn’t know what she was missing.

“But for what it’s worth – I don’t think I’d mind much, if you stepped on my feet.”

And well, what else could he do but dance with her, after she said that?

As he led her out to the floor he managed to catch Bucky’s eye. Bucky raised an eyebrow, but all he could do in reply was shrug.

It went about as well as he had thought. Steve was a better fighter than he was a dancer, and he hadn’t won a fight in about five years. But no matter how often he trod on her toes, she never stopped smiling at him. In a bizarre role reversal, Bucky was now watching their every move like a hawk; poor Molly kept pressing closer against him, probably wondering why her date was suddenly so interested in her sister.

“You’re a real nice guy, Steve,” Anna said sweetly. Steve was thinking he was actually the biggest jerk in the world. “It’s hard to find guys like you, you know?”

He managed to meet Bucky’s eye. He must’ve read some sign of panic in Steve’s stare, because he managed to extricate himself from Molly and come over to where Steve was floundering.

“You’re gonna want to be careful, Steve,” he said, and Steve stopped dancing gratefully. “You might do permanent damage to her toes.”

Anna seemed to freeze up once Bucky got there. Steve gave a nervous laugh. “You know me and dancing.”

Bucky slung an arm around his shoulder. “How’s about we go grab you girls something to drink?” His grin was easy; Bucky really was so good at this.

Waiting at the bar, Bucky quietly groused. “I’m shelling out an awful lot of money on these dames considering I’m not gonna sleep with either of them.” He gave Steve a toothy grin and said, quietly, “You’re an expensive date, Rogers.”

“ _Bucky,”_ he hissed. Bucky just laughed.

“That Anna sure likes you,” he said once they had ordered. Steve shrugged.

“She’s a nice girl.”

“Little handsy.” Bucky said this nonchalantly. Steve shot him a look.

“Jealous?” He asked softly.

When Bucky looked at him, his eyes were dark. “Maybe.”

Steve swallowed. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Why not?”

“‘Cause I’m liable to do something that’ll get us both thrown in jail.”

The grin came back. “Promise?”

Steve elbowed him in the ribs, and Bucky groaned in pain. “That’s not fair, your elbows are so bony they should be classified as weapons.”

“Don’t be such a baby.”

Bucky smiled at him, a smile that could get them both in trouble. “Night’s almost over, Stevie.”

 _Not soon enough,_ he thought.

* * *

The rest of the night passed. Anna didn’t ask him to dance again, which made him think she wasn’t as okay with the feet stepping as she had said. At the end of the night they walked the girls home, Bucky holding up a stumbling Molly. Anna was keeping up a steady stream of chatter, but all Steve was able to pay attention to was the way Bucky’s hand stayed sure and steady on Molly’s waist.

It wasn’t that he was jealous of them, not exactly. Mostly he was just jealous that Bucky could hold onto her so easily, in way that he could never do with Steve. He was envious of that casual bit of affection, that kind that he and Bucky would never be able to have.

Anna’s hand slipped into his. He hoped she wouldn’t mind how sweaty it was.

When they got to the girls’ place Bucky kissed Molly on the cheek, citing her drunkenness as an excuse when she turned her head for more.

Steve did not have that way out.

Anna tugged him off to the side as Bucky was helping Molly find her keys. She smiled warmly at him; they were very nearly the same height, probably would be if she weren’t wearing heels.

“It’s hard to find a guy who isn’t always trying to stick his hand up a girls shirt,” she said softly. “And I was wrong about James, too.” She cast a look over at where Bucky was now helping Molly up the steps. “I thought I’d be goin’ home alone tonight, that he’d have made quick work of getting her out of her dress.”

Steve decided not to mention that Bucky three months ago would likely have done just that.

“Yeah, Bucky’s a good guy,” he said. His mouth was very dry. Molly had made it inside, and now Bucky was standing by himself, watching the two of them closely.

“Mm,” Anna said, and he had the impression that she didn’t want to talk about Bucky. They stood there for a bit longer, Steve trying to figure out how to say goodnight, when she finally said, sounding amused, “Well? Aren’t you going to kiss me goodnight?”

“Uh,” Steve said, heart starting to race. “Uh, I didn’t want to, you know, pressure you –”

“You don’t have to keep showing what a gentleman you are, Steve,” she said, a little impatiently. Then she grabbed his shirt and dragged him in.

Steve had only kissed one other girl before, in seventh grade, and she had only done it to make Bucky jealous. But he’d had quite a bit of practice, in the past three months, at kissing Bucky, so he wasn’t completely lost. Kissing Anna was different than kissing Bucky, though. She was softer, less sure of herself. She kept opening and closing her mouth, as if she couldn’t decide if she wanted to deepen the kiss or not. Steve had the feeling he was the more experienced of the two. It was a strange thought.

Her lips were red when they pulled away. She was beaming at him, and leaned in for one last brief kiss before bounding up the steps. “Goodnight, James,” she said as she passed Bucky.

“Night, Anna,” he said softly.

They didn’t speak on the way home. It wasn’t a long walk; Steve spent most of it trying to figure out what the hell just happened. He knew Bucky wasn’t mad, but he wasn’t entirely sure what it was, exactly, that Bucky was feeling.

He got his answer as soon as the door closed behind them and Bucky had him pushed up against the wall, mouth on Steve’s and his hands already pulling at Steve’s braces.

“Nice girl,” Steve said, just to rile Bucky up more. Bucky let out a sound that was almost a growl. Steve laughed.

“Dames always want what they can’t have,” Bucky said.

“I think I might call her.”

Bucky bit down on his shoulder, hard. Steve damn near bit through his tongue, trying to keep quiet.

“You have no idea what I wanted to do to you, right in the middle of the goddamn dancefloor.” Bucky’s voice was hoarse, his breath hot in Steve’s ear. “Wanted to get on my knees, show everyone how fucking crazy you make me.”

“Fuck.”

“Wanted you to fuck me right there, Stevie, right in front of everyone.”

“God,” Steve breathed out. “Damn.”

“Thought I was gonna go mad, watching you an’ her.”

“Now you know how I felt,” Steve said, pushing back, hands working at the buttons of Bucky’s shirt. “Hearing you come home at unholy hours, reeking of perfume, covered in lipstick.”

“Every time,” Bucky said seriously, lifting Steve up onto the table and grinding their hips together. “Every time I was thinking of you.”

Steve wrapped his legs firmly around Bucky’s waist and let him carry Steve to their room. Normally he hated when Bucky did this, but he was too eager to get to the bedroom to care much about how he got there.

“Breathe,” Bucky said, as he lay on the bed, pulling Steve on top of him. He placed his hand on Steve’s chest, felt the erratic beating of his heart. “Gonna give yourself an asthma attack again.”

“One day I would like to do this without you mentioning that.”

“Not a chance. You havin’ an asthma attack during sex was the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Fuck you.”

“That’s the plan, pal.”

Steve bit him on the lip. “You’re a damn pervert, Barnes.”

Bucky grinned up at him. “You wouldn’t like me half so much if I wasn’t.”

* * *

After they lay in bed, Bucky’s head on Steve’s chest. He had a habit of doing that after. Steve had a feeling it was so he could listen to Steve’s heartbeat, make sure it wasn’t any more irregular than it usually was.

“I liked that girl,” Bucky said after a few minutes. Steve snorted.

“I have bruises on my hip in the shape of your fingers that say differently.”

Bucky lifted his head. “Did I hurt you?”

“M’not a damn china doll,” he said, annoyed. “Besides, I like it when you leave marks.”

“You’re a damn pervert, Rogers.”

Steve laughed. “You wouldn’t like me half so much if I wasn’t.”

Bucky kissed him before settling back down. “I mean it. She’s a nice girl. She’d be good for you.”

This was a conversation they had had before. It was not a conversation he was interested in having.

“Well she’s a few months too late,” he said firmly, hoping to end the conversation there. He should have known better.

“She could give you more than I could.”

“I doubt that.”

Bucky lifted his head to scowl. “Don’t be so stubborn.”

“Don’t be so stupid.”

“You don’t gotta give up your life for me. That Anna – she could give you more of a future than we could ever have.”

“Why do you always hafta bring this up at the worst possible time?”

“When would be a _good_ time?” Bucky sat up. “We can’t all be stupidly optimistic, Steve.”

“No, some of us are just jackasses.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “I’m going out for a cigarette,” he said, climbing out of bed. Steve followed.

“I’m coming.”

“No you’re not. Don’t need you getting pneumonia again.”

“Fuck off, Bucky,” Steve said venomously. “I’m not your girl.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem, pal. Things would be a hell of a lot simpler if you were. But I – I’m not gonna take your future away. Not when you could have so much more.”

“Probably should have thought of that before, then.”

He had been expecting a fight – instead Bucky seemed to deflate. “Yeah, I should have. Wasn’t being fair to you.”

Steve wasn’t going to kick him while he was down, figuratively. He had been kicked while he was down often enough literally to do that. “Well, what about you, Buck?” He said softly. “All this talk about me doin’ better. You ever think that you could do better, too?”

Bucky gave him a sad smile. “No one better than you, Stevie. You’re it for me, pal.”

“So how come I don’t get a say in the matter?”

“You’re gonna be great, Steve. Gonna go far.”

“Well, maybe I don’t want to go anywhere you can’t follow.”

Bucky shook his head. “Stubborn son of a bitch.”

“Hey,” Steve said, and he waited until Bucky met his eyes. “It’s always been you.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Stubborn son of a bitch,” he repeated, before holding out his hand. Steve looked at him in confusion.

“What?”

“Dance with me,” Bucky said easily, as if they hadn’t just been arguing, as if they hadn’t just had a discussion about how the way they loved each other was wrong, how there was no future between them. “We don’t have a lot of opportunity, you know.”

“There’s no music.”

“Well gee, you’re right,” Bucky said, tone light and sarcastic. “If only there was some kind of portable invention that allowed you to… to play music, or something. Shit. That’s too bad, huh Steve?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Okay, okay.”

“Wait -- hang on.” Bucky looked at him as if he had made an incredible discovery. “Steve -- have you ever heard of a _radio?”_

“You’re not funny,” Steve said, as Bucky dragged him into the kitchen. Bucky turned on the radio and then turned to Steve, holding out his hands.

“Wow! Music!”

“The horse is dead, Buck,” Steve said as Bucky grabbed his hand again. Soft music filtered through the room; Bucky turned it down low so the neighbours didn’t complain.

“C’mere,” he said softly, pulling Steve to him. He hummed along with the music as him and Steve danced.

“How come you get to lead?” Steve asked. Bucky kissed his ear.

“Don’t want you stepping on my feet,” he said. And he was right -- with Bucky leading, Steve didn’t trod on his toes nearly so much. “Maybe you shoulda let the dames lead, Stevie, might’ve had more luck.”

Steve tried to be annoyed and found he couldn’t be. Bucky somehow managed to pull him even closer.

“I’m starting to think that you’re less interested in dancing and more interested in something else,” Steve said. Bucky bit down lightly on his ear.

“My intentions are pure.”

“Ain’t a damn part of you that’s pure.”

Bucky laughed and tilted up Steve’s neck to kiss him softly. “I know you don’t like talking about it --”

“Then let’s not talk about it.”

“I just want you to know that one day you’re gonna meet a nice dame who sees you for who you are, and you’re gonna fall in love and I ain’t gonna blame you for one goddamn minute.”

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Steve said. Bucky rubbed the back of Steve’s neck.

“Okay, sweetheart,” he said quietly. Steve didn’t even comment on the pet name; he was still a little jealous over all the things Bucky had been calling Molly tonight.

Bucky did one last complicated step and then kissed Steve deeply on the mouth before pressing his lips to Steve’s forehead. “Let’s go to bed, Buck,” Steve said, and Bucky made a noise of agreement.

Bucky tucked around him that night, breathing steady in Steve’s ear. Despite the somber tone of their conversation, Steve felt happier than he had been in a long time. He wouldn’t have been surprised to find he had dreamed the past three months, except one time he had told Bucky this and Bucky had bit him hard on the hip. _See?_ He’d said with a grin. _Not dreaming._

“Love you,” Bucky muttered, half asleep already. He’d never met a person who could fall asleep as quickly as Bucky. Steve wanted to tell him that there was no way he could ever meet anyone that he could love even half as much as he loved Bucky.

“Love you,” he said quietly. Bucky tugged him closer and was snoring in his ear in moments.

Steve, warm and happy and comfortable, followed soon after.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr @aravenlikeawritingdesk


End file.
